The following comes by way of Dentons 50 partner Hill Capitol Strategies in Minnesota.
At 6:57 Saturday morning, a rare Memorial Day Weekend Special Session adjourned. The 10 remaining budget bills were adopted during the 21-hour Special Session. The following budget bills and a pension bill were adopted:
· Taxes
· E-12 Education
· Health & Human Services
· Environment & Natural Resources
· Public Safety & Judiciary
· Jobs & Energy
· Transportation
· Agriculture & Housing
· State Government Finance & Veterans Affairs
· Legacy
· Pensions
The Global Budget Agreement reached between the Governor, Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader included passing a $500 million Capital Investment or Bonding Bill, however the bill was not brought forward for a vote in either body. While the initial response from the Minority Leaders in both bodies was to not provide the votes necessary to suspend the rules and allow for a quick session, in the end private discussions likely led to some non-public agreements with the minority. The outcome of those discussions and any agreements may never be made public or they could include changes we won’t see until the Legislature returns in 2020. Whatever those discussions were, minority members in both bodies did offer a handful of amendments to various bills. Those amendments were not adopted and the Legislature was able to meet the 7 am adjournment time agreed to with the Governor. The Governor will sign the bills as they are presented to him this week
The new budget goes into effect on July 1, 2019. The Legislature is not scheduled to return until noon, Tuesday, February 11, 2020. Numerous House Committees have indicated an interest in conducting hearings or listening sessions over the Interim. With the end of the Regular Session, Minnesota’s prohibition on fundraising from Lobbyists and Political Action Committees during the session also goes away. It certainly didn’t take long for the mailbox to fill with invites to numerous fundraising events.
